Handcarved and Painted Bull Roarer

The bull roarer is an ancient design that has been used by different cultures from around the world. A bone churinga, or bullroarer, was found in Europe that seems to be 10,000 years old. Drawings and references to them can be found from ancient Greece, the Maori tribe of New Zealand, the Inuit, and aborigines of Australia. Many tribes of Native Americans used the bullroarer as a sacred instrument to invoke the spirits during rites of passage to manhood. The Apache, Blackfeet, Hopi, Athabaskan, Yokuts, Pomo, and Aztecs also used bull roarers for healing, for good fortune in hunts and a stimulus to growing crops. The Navajo called it the "groaning stick" (tsin di' ni) and used it to drive away evil spirits and illness.